THE IMPortance of an artist's retreat

For a city-based artist like me, getting into the car and taking off for a few days to get into nature is just about the best thing I can do to reboot my brain. When I'm lucky, I get away at least twice a year for several days to different locations in Massachusetts, my home state.

Click on the one-minute video below to enjoy a sketching session on Race Point Beach of Provincetown, the furthest tip of Cape Cod. My patrons sent me here a few months ago. You'll notice the mellowed earth tones of the beach in autumn... golden ochres, plums, siennas... just gorgeous.

I am blessed with 14 patron subscribers who micro-fund these retreats (thank you everyone!). Over the last four years, I have painted places along the coastline of Massachusetts in different seasons and times of day. Slowly, I have built up a portfolio of paintings that reflect both the beauty of my actual surroundings and the transcendent landscape, or 'sense of place.'  

The retreats are building on themselves one year at a time.

-In 2014 I stayed at the home of relatives and explored the South Coast of Massachusetts.

-In 2015 I got an informal artist's residency on the island of Nantucket, a real treat (blog about that in June 2015, if you care to look in the Archives sidebar).

-In 2016 I took a trip to the North Shore to Halibut Point State Park in Rockport, on Cape Ann.

-In early 2017, I set up a Patreon page, and quickly, patrons began to subscribe. Then I was able to revisit Cape Ann to stay at the Emery House, a beautiful country monastic house, and I explored nearby Plum Island in detail. I shared the experience with my patrons and kept them up to date on the works in progress in the studio.

-Later in 2017 I went to Provincetown to explore the Cape Cod National Seashore over four days (where I shot the video above). Now that I had a patron community building up, I shared what I learned and saw with them via video posts.

If you are curious about my patron subscribers and how they microfund these painting retreats, click here to see my Patreon page. You're welcome to see some of the public posts and videos there. Some are for patrons only. 

I hope I've inspired YOU to travel, sketch, and dream... it is a joy!